Many types of load bearing garments or backpacks may employ some type of attachment system for accessories so that a user may locate any of a variety of such accessories (e.g., pockets, pouches, and holders) where they will be conveniently accessible. Permanently attached pockets are suboptimal because they require extensive repair or replacement of the garment when they wear out. Pockets that are permanently attached cannot be repositioned for the comfort and accessibility of the individual user, nor exchanged for more appropriate alternative accessories given the current use.
Well known attachment systems include keepers with slides, hook and loop fasteners, snap fasteners (both hard and soft), buttons, and interlocking straps. Generally, the problems associated with these systems are the labor and expense, weight, heat stress on the user, unreliability, bulk, lack of comfort, and creation of unstable loads due to sloppiness in the fitting.
Keepers and sliders tend to be uncomfortable to the user, or require padding, which adds to a user's heat stress. Their mechanisms have a tendency to become fouled, and are costly to repair when damaged.
Hook and loop fasteners (of both plastic and metal) are noisy and become unreliable when exposed to adverse environmental conditions, such as water, grit, mud, snow, or ice.
Snap fasteners are unreliable, easily damaged, and require support to engage. These fasteners require both sides of the snap to be affixed to heavy textile substrates and do not provide enough retention for high load situations.
Some other attachment methods employ one or more plastic parts, which are adhered directly to the garment or the pocket, and interface with another part on the opposing surface. These plastic parts are sewn directly onto a textile surface, but this requires that a relatively low strength plastic be used and that it be thinned to allow penetration by a sewing needle. Furthermore, piercing the plastic in this manner damages it precisely at the point of greatest load, typically resulting in tear-outs during heavy use.
Modular pockets are frequently avoided due to the cost and lack of stability caused by sloppiness in the attachment. Methods which can better approximate the stability of permanent attachment, such as the interlocking straps described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,724,707, may be expensive, bulky, and cause heat stress due to their thickness and heavier textile substrates required on a garment for their mounting. An interlocking strap system confines the location and angle at which modular pockets can be attached to a garment, based on the width and placement of the straps on the garment.